


listen to the music & watch the people dance

by seungchxn



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Abusive Parents, Alternate Universe - Cinderella Fusion, Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bang Chan as Cinderella, Bang Chan is a Sweetheart, Bottom Lee Felix (Stray Kids), Cinderella Elements, Costume Parties & Masquerades, Dancing, Fluff and Smut, Kid Fic, Kunpimook Bhuwakul | BamBam is a Good Bro, Lee Felix (Stray Kids) is Whipped, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Siblings, Single Parents, Soft Lee Felix (Stray Kids), Step-parents, Top Bang Chan, Yang Jeongin | I.N is a Sweetheart
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:35:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 18,932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22605589
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seungchxn/pseuds/seungchxn
Summary: “No, no, please don’t-” Chan doesn’t look up as the prince speaks, but he hears him dismount his horse. Suddenly there’s hands grabbing his shoulders, guiding him to stand straight. “Please,” the prince says softly. “You’ve just saved me. There’s no need to bow.”
Relationships: Bang Chan/Lee Felix
Comments: 105
Kudos: 612





	1. Chapter 1

Chan grows up in the palace.

Not, of course, in the upstairs palace. He’s not royalty. But his mother is a lady's maid and his father is dead so they live in the servants quarters in the palace. It’s a small room, two cots, a set of drawers, and a hearth, but it’s enough. It’s a home.

When Chan is twelve years old, the royal family throws a masquerade ball. Chan, of course, isn’t allowed to go, but his mother has to attend to the queen so there’s no one around to stop him if he wants to sneak upstairs and peak through the windows.

He does this every time there’s an event of some kind, loves to see into this world he’ll never have access to. Chan dreams sometimes about joining, finding something nice to wear and slipping in among the other guests. He doesn’t know if he’d want to live in the world of royalty forever, but it would be nice to go to a party for the night.

He’s sitting in the garden, watching the party through the open doors out to the terrace. He can hear the music, faint though it is, as it floats through the air on the light breeze. His eyes close and he sways slightly to the beat.

“What are you doing?”

Chan shrieks and jumps, falling off the bench in the process. He looks to see who scared him and finds a small boy in fancy clothes and a mask standing behind the bench. “You scared me!” he snaps, before catching himself and realizing he probably shouldn’t be speaking this way to someone who is probably some form of royalty. “Sorry, I’m sorry.” He scrambles to his feet and bows. “I’m sorry, sir.”

“Please don’t bow,” the boy says softly. “I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to scare you. I just wanted to know what you were doing.”

Chan flushes and shuffles his feet nervously. “I was just watching the ball,” he mumbles. “I can’t attend, but I like listening to the music and watching the people dance.”

“Do you know how to dance?”

“No.” Chan shakes his head. “I’m just a servant’s son; there’s no need for me to learn how to dance.”

The boy regards him for a moment, then holds out his hand. “I can teach you.”

“What?”

“I said I can teach you.” The boy crosses around the bench and takes Chan’s hand. “You have to be the girl though, ‘cause I said so and I’m royalty.”

Chan stares at the boy, knowing that this is a bad idea and could get him in a lot of trouble. His desire to dance outweighs the risks, though, and so he takes the boy’s hand. 

Immediately, the boy bends and kisses the back of Chan’s hand. “This is how the boy greets the girl,” he says, straightening up again. “They also exchange names; my name is Felix.”

“Chris,” Chan says. He has a feeling that the boy didn’t give him the name he actually goes by, and he figures he might as well return the favor. “What now?”

“Put your other hand on my shoulder.”

Chan does as requested; he spares a thought for how weird this must look with him being almost half a foot taller than Felix, but then the little boy is talking again.

“I’m going to step forward, and then you have to step back, okay?”

What follows would probably be classified as a disaster by any professional dance teacher, but Chan can’t bring himself to care. He keeps tripping over Felix’s feet, and the little boy stumbles while trying to turn him, but they’re both laughing and teasing each other.

Finally, the song draws to an end and Felix spins Chan out one last time before drawing him back in clumsily. They hold the ending pose for a moment, then dissolve into fits of laughter, the sound of their joy echoing around the garden. 

“We’re such bad dancers!” Chan can’t stop giggling, holding tightly to Felix’s hands to help himself keep his balance. Felix isn’t much better, nearly bending in half with the force of his laughter. 

“What are you doing?”

Chan and Felix spring apart, and, as the richly clad lady approaches them, Chan drops into a low bow. “My lady,” he says, not daring to look up even when he stands straight again.

She barely spares him a glance, turning back to Felix. “You know you’re not supposed to leave the ballroom, darling.”

Felix hangs his head. “I’m sorry, Mother.”

“If you’re sorry, then don’t do it again,” she replies, chiding him gently. “Now go back inside.”

“Yes, Mother.” Felix shoots Chan a sideways glance, then hurries to do as he was told. Once he’s gone, the lady’s full focus is on Chan.

“What is your name, son?”

“Chan, my lady.”

“Chan… Your mother is the queen’s ladies maid?”

If she knows his mother then she must be one of the queen’s ladies-in-waiting. What if she gets his mother in trouble? What if his mother gets fired for this? Still, there’s nothing he can do now so he just nods. “Yes, ma’am.”

“What are you doing in the garden with my son? All non-essential personnel are supposed to be downstairs.”

Chan sags. He doesn’t want to think about the trouble he’s going to be in if she reports him. “I just wanted to listen to the music. I didn’t know your son would be here.”

“Hmm. Well, from now on stay downstairs, yes? We don’t want you getting caught by the guards.”

For the first time he raises his head to meet her gaze. “You mean you’re not going to report me?”

She smiles and shakes her head. “No. Just don’t do it again, alright?”

He smiles gratefully. “Yes, ma’am!”

As he scrambles out of the garden he breathes a sigh of relief. Now he just has to pray that his mother won’t hear of this.

—————

It’s roughly two weeks after the ball that Chan’s world begins to fall apart.

His mother comes back from visiting the marketplace one day, on the Queen’s errand, and reports that there’s a new fabric merchant who has set up shop in town. Suddenly there’s packages arriving for his mother almost everyday, and flowers, and the free time that she used to spend with Chan is suddenly spent going into town to meet this man. It’s not entirely unexpected that she returns one day after several months of this and reports that she’s engaged.

It’s _also_ not unexpected when she announces that they’re going to move. What comes as a curveball to almost everyone is the announcement that she’s going to be quitting her job.

“But Mother -”

“Hush, Chan,” she says, not looking up at him as she packs their clothes neatly into a trunk. It’s been generously provided by the queen, as a gift for his mother’s years of service. “My mind is made up. Besides, Eunyoung is more than capable of providing for us without me working. I’ve not had a day off in fifteen years; I think it’s about time that I did something for myself.”

Chan can’t bring himself to argue with that, especially not when she looks happier than she has in a long time. So what if he’s never met his new stepfather? He’s sure that any man that clearly cares so much for his mother could never be that bad.

On his thirteenth birthday, his mother works her last day at the palace. That night the kitchen staff throw Chan a small party, both as a goodbye and to celebrate. He looks around at what’s been his family for the entirety of his life so far and realizes he is going to miss them fiercely. 

Still, he tells himself that his new family won’t be that bad. Even when his stepfather barely spares him a glance when they meet. Even when his mother starts wearing long sleeves and looking frightened everytime Eunyoung enters the room.

—————

Two months after Chan turns sixteen, his mother dies giving birth to a baby girl. Eunyoung refuses to even come near the child, storming out of the house with a muttered, “I need a drink.”

The midwife fetches Chan from where he waits in the hallway and brings him into the room. He tries not to look towards the bed where he knows his mother lies, thin and bruised as she’s become while living in Eunyoung’s house. Soon, though, the thought of looking to his mother is the furthest thing from his mind as the midwife hands him a small, cloth-wrapped bundle.

“A little girl,” she says with a smile, sad though it may be. “A little girl in perfect health.”

Chan looks down at the tiny being in his arms and starts crying softly. She’s so small, fits in his arms perfectly, and she has the same nose as him. This is his little sister and he falls in love with her at first sight. Right then and there he swears that she will _never_ know what it is to live in the toxicity that is Eunyoung’s house, that she will be happy and loved and cherished.

One of her little arms is waving around as she squeals, and when he lifts his hand to hers she reflexively latches onto his finger. He laughs, startled, and a smile breaks across his face through the tears.

“You have to name her,” says the midwife. “Your mother died before she could, and the father clearly isn’t interested.”

“Aeji,” Chan replies without a second thought, his eyes never leaving his sister’s face. “Her name is Aeji.”

“A very beautiful name. Tell me, what does it mean?” Something in the older woman’s tone tells him that she already knows the meaning, but he indulges her anyway.

“Love,” he says. “It means love.”

—————

“Ji-ji! Get back here!” Chan races after the little girl, who’s managed to slip away from him while he talked to a street vender. She doesn’t heed his call, just laughs and slips through the crowd. “Aeji!”

Luckily, Chan is faster than her, being twenty years old compared to her being four. He catches up to her quickly, grabbing her and swinging her up into his arms. “Aeji! What have I said about going to the marketplace with me?”

“Tha’ - that I need to stay with you and not run away,” she replies, still giggling. 

“Exactly. So what, pray tell, were you doing exactly? I know you weren’t disobeying the rules, right? Because you’re a good girl and good girls follow the rules.”

Aeji pouts. “But it’s so _boring!”_

“Boring? What do you mean it’s boring?”

“Watching Channie talk to people. It’s _boring._ I wanna go an’ see Uncle BamBam! He’s never boring.”

Chan gasps, overdramatic in the way one often is with small children. “You think Channie is boring?” He sticks his lower lip out and pouts as if he’s about to cry. “Do you really think that I’m no fun?”

“Nooo!” Aeji is quick to reassure him. “Channie is the mostest fun! I promise!”

“Really?” When she vigorously nods her head, Chan breaks into a wide grin. “Good. You know why? Cause,” he leans his head in close as if telling her a great secret, “Channie thinks Aeji is the mostest fun too.” He kisses her forehead gently and she giggles happily. “Now come on. I just have to pack up the bread we’ve bought and then we can go see Uncle BamBam, okay?”

“Okay,” Aeji agrees easily, snuggling her head into the crook of Chan’s neck.

When Chan returns to the baker’s stall Mrs. Yang, the older woman who always runs it, smiles kindly at him. “I see you caught yourself a little rascal, huh?” She says with a knowing twinkle in her eyes. “I remember that age, where all they want to do is run away from you all the time. In fact, mine _still_ likes to disappear - Jeongin!”

A teenage boy sticks his head around the curtain at the back of the stall where the breads and such are stored. There’s a disgruntled look on his face. “Yes Mother?” Then he sees Chan and Aeji and his expression brightens. “Chan!”

Chan smiles at the boy but before he can respond Mrs. Yang speaks. “Get me one of those berry pies,” she tells her son. “Actually, get two of the mini ones.”

Jeongin disappears behind the curtain again, emerging a second later with two pies. They’re small, handheld, and are wrapped in some kind of paper. They’re clearly still warm, if the steam rising up and vanishing into the chill winter air is any indication.

“Here,” he says, offering them to Chan and Aeji, who smiles at him and reaches greedily for the pie.

“No, no, I - we can’t afford these, Mrs. Yang, please -” After four years Chan is long over the shame of telling people he doesn’t have the money for something, although he’s always a little more embarrassed when it comes to treats and gifts for Aeji. Most people know not to press if he says he can’t afford something, although occasionally he’ll find a free gift in his bag when he gets back home (this is an especially common occurrence when they go by the toy shop). Everyone knows why he can’t afford things, what with the way Eunyoung drinks away nearly every coin that he makes, and Aeji has them all wrapped around her finger in such a way that they’re willing to lose a tiny bit of profit to make her happy.

This is clearly one of those times. “Nonsense,” Mrs. Yang says. “Chan, you and Aeji are always welcome to have a treat from my stall, you know that.”

That doesn’t mean Chan likes feeling like he’s getting a handout. “I don’t -”

“Chan, please just take the pies,” Jeongin says quietly.

“I-”

“Channie, can I have pie? _Please?”_ Aeji asks. He makes the fatal mistake of looking down at her when she speaks. Caught between the combined power of Aeji and Jeongin’s pouts, Chan has no choice but to give in.

“Fine,” he says. “We’ll take the pies.”

Aeji cheers and claps her hands and he tries not to wince at the fact that both things happen right next to his ear. She quickly quiets down, however, when Jeongin hands her the pie, munching happily on the treat.

Chan grabs his rucksack from the table - he’d left it behind when he’d run after Aeji. Mrs. Yang has already put his regular order in there, and after he slings it over his shoulder he takes the pie.

“Say goodbye to Mrs. Yang and Jeongin, okay Ji-ji?”

She waves happily with a berry covered hand, mouth full of pie. “Bye-bye!”

Mrs. Yang smiles and waves back. “You two have a lovely day.”

As they cross back through the market Aeji waves and smiles at every familiar face they pass (which is most of them); Chan’s little sister is the absolute darling of the marketplace. Considering most of the people here have known her since the first week after she was born, it only makes sense. She’s only ever missed a day at the market because she’s sick, but even on the days when she’s too ill to come with Chan as he runs errands, she still comes. He just goes by Mrs. Yang’s stall first on those days rather than last, leaving Aeji with her for an hour or so while he does the weekly shopping. Mrs. Yang adores the little girl, is the grandmother she doesn’t have, and is always more than happy to take her off Chan’s hands for a bit.

Leaving the marketplace behind, they head towards the palace. Visiting there is one of Chan’s favorite parts of the week - _going home_ is one of his favorite parts of the week.

That’s what the palace is to him really, his home in a way that Eunyoung’s house, dark and dreary as it is, could never be. Right after Aeji had been born he’d considered moving back there - up until Aeji his mother had been the only thing keeping him from going and he knew he could get hired in an instant if he wanted a job. But Aeji wasn’t his child, even if it felt like she was sometimes. He wouldn’t be allowed to take her away from Eunyoung. And since leaving her alone in that house, entirely under Eunyoung’s care, wasn’t an option, he stayed.

It wasn’t as bad as it could have been. Eunyoung had never hit Chan, never raised a hand against him the way he had against his mother. He knew that Chan would probably hit back if he did, and that wasn’t a fight he would win. That was good in more ways than one though - it meant that all Chan had to do was make sure he was always between Eunyoung and Aeji and Eunyoung would never be able to lay a finger on her. It worked too - her father had never so much as touched her, not even to hold her.

_How sad must your life be,_ Chan sometimes wonders, _and how cruel your actions, that you’ve never been allowed to hold your own daughter._

Everyday Chan woke up praying that Eunyoung had drunk himself to death during the night, or maybe been in a bar fight and gotten an injury he couldn’t come back from. So far his prayers have gone unanswered, but he likes to dream of a day when he can take Aeji and leave that house and never look back.

He’s wrenched out of his thoughts by a shout, so lost in his own head as they walk the road through the woods to the palace, that he’s only just now seeing the seemingly out-of-control horse barreling towards him. 

His eyes widen as he watches the rider struggle, and fail, to regain control. Quickly he sets his rucksack and Aeji down safely off to the side of the road. _“Stay here,”_ he tells her firmly. “Stay here and don’t move until I say you can, okay?”

She nods and he immediately turns back to the road. The horse is coming closer and closer, and the rider still isn’t able to get her under control. Other men would run; Chan holds his ground. He knows what he’s doing.

Just as it seems like Chan is going to get run over, he throws out his arms and screams. The horse rears back, startled, and Chan springs forward to grab the bridle when it lands on its feet.

“Shh, you’re okay, you’re okay darling,” he whispers, petting it’s nose as it tries to get away from him. Soon it calms under his touch and he smiles. “There you go, good job.”

“Thank you,” says a deep voice. “Your help is much appreciated.”

Chan looks up at the rider, forgotten until now, lost in the rush and urgency of getting the horse to calm down, and his eyes widen. “Your highness!” He drops into a deep bow.

“No, no, please don’t-” Chan doesn’t look up as the prince speaks, but he hears him dismount his horse. Suddenly there’s hands grabbing his shoulders, guiding him to stand straight. “Please,” the prince says softly. “You’ve just saved me. There’s no need to bow.”

“Your highness, I-”

“Yongbok, please.” The prince smiles, and it’s the most beautiful thing Chan has ever seen. It’s blinding, like staring at the sun, and he thinks he could watch the prince smile for the rest of his life and be content. He tries not to dwell on what that means.

_“Prince_ Yongbok,” he says. “And it was no trouble.”

“Still, I-”

“Daddy?”

Immediately all of Chan’s senses are attuned to Aeji. She only calls him her father when she’s upset or scared, and _never_ around other people; he’s taught her enough that she knows Eunyoung can never find out how she thinks about Chan.

He hurried to her side. She’s looking up at him with big, watery eyes and he easily pulls her into his arms. “What’s wrong, sweetheart?” he coos. “What’s wrong, baby?”

“Daddy nearly got - nearly got hit by a horse,” she says quietly.

“I know, I know, baby. But Daddy’s okay, yeah? He’s not injured anywhere, I promise.”

She stares at him stubbornly, still looking like she might cry at any moment. Suddenly she starts squirming in his arms, signaling that she wants to get down. He sets her gently on her feet, then instantly regrets it when she whirls around and stomps over to the prince. She rears back and punches him in the leg. Chan’s heart stops. It can’t have hurt, she can’t punch very hard but still. That’s the fucking _crown prince_.

Horrified, Chan rushes forward and grabs her before she can hit the second most powerful man in the country again. “Aeji, what are you-”

“You put Daddy in danger!” She shouts, glaring at the prince, who’s watching everything with a look of helpless amusement on his face. “You’re a bad man! Stupid!”

“Oh my god - Aeji, no!” Chan drops to his knees and pulls her close to his chest. “Please, sir, I’m so sorry for her, she’s young, she doesn’t know any better-”

“It’s alright,” Prince Yongbok says, smiling gently. “Truly, I’m not upset.” He drops to one knee next to them. “I’m very sorry, my lady. A prince should know better than to risk the lives of his people, and although I didn’t mean to put your father in danger, that doesn’t make my actions any less stupid. I promise that it will never happen again.”

Aeji glares at him for a moment longer, then thrusts our her arm, pinky extended. “Promise?”

The Prince links their fingers without hesitation. “I promise.”

“Good,” she says, nodding solemnly. “Now let me ride your pony.”

Yongbok bursts out laughing. Chan’s eyes go wide and he immediately starts chastizing his sister. “Aeji! You can’t just demand such things from a prince-!”

“Why not? Channie always says I’m a princess, an’ if he’s a prince- if he’s a prince then he should be giving me anything I want.” She’s confident, completely certain her four year old logic is an unbreakable argument.

Chan opens his mouth to apologize again, but the Prince speaks before he can. “Of course, Princess. I’m more than happy to take you for a ride,” To Chan, he says, “Were you two headed towards the palace?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Perfect. Come, my Princess.” Yongbok takes Aeji’s hand and kisses it dramatically. She giggles as, in the next instant, he scoops her up and puts her on the back of his horse.

She starts slipping immediately, her small legs incapable of properly gripping the saddle. Chan is on his feet in a flash, grabbing her waist to hold her steady. He turns to the Prince. “I don’t think this will work, not if she’s just going to slip off the saddle.”

“You might be right,” The Prince has a frown on his face as he sizes up the saddle, trying to figure out a solution. Suddenly his face brightens. “I’ve got it. If you’re willing, I could ride behind your daughter? And you could lead us? That way you don’t need to worry about me running off with her or anything.”

Chan considers the offer for a moment, before accepting. How often will his little girl get the chance to ride with a member of the royal family? And so far Yongbok has been nothing but nice to her - what kind of caretaker would he be if he said no?

He pulls her off the horse long enough for Yongbok to get on, then passes Aeji up to him. Taking the reins and shouldering his rucksack, he begins to lead the horse down the road.

However, he doesn't lead the horse for long; ever paranoid about his sister (how could he not be, when they live in Eunyoung's house) he falls back a little. This way he's walking beside the horse, allowing him to ensure that he keeps Aeji in his line of sight.

She’s babbling nonsense to the horse, petting its withers and Chan can’t help but smile. Yongbok catches it and says, “You have a very lovely daughter.”

“Thank you. But she’s my sister, not my daughter.”

The Prince frowns. “But earlier, she called you-”

“It’s complicated,” Chan’s tone is firm; he doesn’t care who this is, he’s not about to spill his life story. “I’ve essentially raised her, yes, but she’s not my daughter.”

“I’m very sorry,” Yongbok speaks quietly. “I’ve obviously struck a nerve; it was not my intention to overstep any boundaries.”

“You’re fine, sir. I just don’t like talking about it very much.”

_"Please_ don’t call me ‘sir’. I’m pretty sure I’m younger than you.” His tone is dry, clearly teasing, and from anyone else that remark would make Chan poke fun right back at them. Instead he just flushes with embarrassment, hanging his head.

“Sorry,” he says. “I grew up in the palace; calling anyone of a higher status than me ‘sir’ is just a habit.”

“You grew up in the palace?” Yongbok sounds surprised. Not that Chan expected any different; he’s clearly not of royal descent and servants tend to be easily forgotten.

“I was a servant. My mother and I left when I was twelve.”

Yongbok is silent and Chan dares glance at him. The Prince’s eyes are wide, as if he’s come to some sort of realization.

“This might seem rude,” he says slowly, “But-”

“Your highness!”

Two royal horses are galloping towards them; as they get closer, it becomes evident that the two riders are palace guards.

“Are you okay, sir?” One asks as they bring their horses to a halt in front of the odd little traveling party Chan has found himself a member of. “We heard your horse bolted.”

Yongbok laughs sheepishly. “Ah, that’s right. There was a snake and, well…” He shrugs. “I guess she wasn’t quite as well trained as I thought, I couldn’t get her to slow down.”

“And who is this?” asks the other guard.

Before the prince can respond, Chan says, “I’m no one. Just a local merchant on my way to visit Royal Advisor BamBam at the palace. I happened to be in the right place at the right time to help the prince.”

The guard frowns suspiciously at him. “Why are you visiting the advisor?”

“We’re childhood friends; we like to get together once a week. And he likes to let my sister run around in the gardens.”

The man still seems not to trust Chan entirely, but one sharp look from the prince and he sighs in defeat. “Jisung,” he says, “Escort him and his sister to the servants entrance and take them to BamBam. Sir, you and I will go together.”

“Changbin, I really don’t think that’s necessary-”

“Your highness, I’m sorry, but we don’t know this man. I get that you like to see the potential for good in everyone, but it is my job to see the potential for bad; therefore, Jisung will be escorting your new friends to the servant’s entrance.”

“But-”

“Your highness, it’s really alright,” Chan says. He tries not to think about the fact he’s just interrupted a prince. “I was going to go to the servant’s entrance anyway. Please listen to your men.”

Yongbok sighs. “Very well. My lady,” here he takes Aeji’s hand, awkward though it may be since he’s sitting behind her, and kisses it. “I’m afraid our journey has been cut short.”

Aeji pouts, but lets Chan pull her off the horse. She reaches out to pat its flank, then waves to Yongbok. “Bye-bye.”

He smiles, and Chan is hit once again by how beautiful the prince is. “Bye-bye, Aeji!”

As Yongbok and Changbin race ahead, the other guard, Jisung, shoots Chan a wry smile. “Congrats to you and your little girl; it’s been fifteen minutes and the prince is whipped already.”

Chan turns beet red. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He mutters, and starts walking, Jisung’s laugh following him down the path.

Somehow, in some as-yet unknown way, he can’t help but feel that this was the start of something great.


	2. Chapter 2

“So,” BamBam says, sipping his tea. “You met Prince Yongbok?”

Chan nearly spits out his drink. “You - how did you hear that?”

Chuckling, BamBam nods his head towards Aeji, who’s happily sitting in the flowerbeds of the royal greenhouse, playing with the dolls BamBam keeps for her in his office. The first time BamBam had plopped her down in the dirt just off the patio in the greenhouse (which was conveniently located next to his office) Chan nearly had a heart attack - surely it must not be allowed for children to play in the castle gardens! He’d felt as though they were pushing their luck just being in the greenhouse in the first place! But BamBam insisted that it was fine, and Aeji had never destroyed anything in the flowerbeds, so Chan reluctantly allowed it. “You went to relieve yourself earlier and little miss got chatty.”

“Of course she did,” Chan says, with a fond sigh and a roll of his eyes. “One day that mouth is going to get her in trouble. I’m amazed it wasn’t today, quite honestly.”

“No, no, Prince Yongbok loves children. Every month he takes a day to go play with children at the orphanage.”

Chan frowns. “There’s an orphanage in town?”  
  


“Ah, no.” BamBam shakes his head. “But there is one in the next town over; he prefers going to that town anyways, seeing as fewer people recognize him. Here, so close to the castle, even in commoner’s clothes he would be instantly noticed. He doesn’t want it to seem like something he does for his image; he genuinely just loves playing with children.”

“Huh. That’s - wow. After today I knew he was a good man but…”

BamBam is watching him with no small amount of amusement. “I know that look. _Someone_ enjoyed meeting the prince, didn’t they?”   
  


They haven’t been best friends since they were children for Chan to miss the way BamBam is smirking. He knows what he’s implying immediately, and even as he opens his mouth to deny it, he’s sure his ears are turning bright red, giving him away.

Sure enough, BamBam cackles. “I knew it! You’re interested in the prince!”

“Keep your voice down!” Chan hisses, looking around frantically to make sure no one has overheard them. “It’s not like I’m carrying a torch for him or anything, it’s just - well, it’s just that he has a really pretty smile? And his voice is very nice, even if it’s not what you’d expect from looking at him and you should have seen him with Aeji, okay, he was _so_ good with her -”

“Chan, my _dearest_ best friend, I hate to break it to you, but you’re not saying anything that’s actually helping your case right now.”

“BamBam, my _dearest_ best friend, need I remind you that even if I _did_ have a thing for the Prince, there’s no possible way that something would come from it. There’s so many different reasons why it would be impossible that it would be easier to list reasons why it _could_ happen. Besides, Aeji comes first. I don’t have time to like anyone, not when she’s essentially a full time job.”

For a moment, BamBam simply stares at him, one eyebrow quirked almost judgmentally. Finally, he sighs. “God, you’re so noble and self-sacrificing that it’s almost sickening. Do you ever do anything for yourself? Do you ever even _think_ about doing something for yourself?”

Chan looks over to where Aeji was happily babbling to her dolls. Her dress was getting covered in dirt stains, and he knew he’d have to wash it as soon as they got home or risk getting yelled at by Eunyoung. He couldn’t bring himself to try and make her keep her dress clean, however; it wasn’t often that she could just be a child without the threat of her father hanging over her head. As he watches her play, he smiles softly and says, without turning to look at BamBam, “She’s my entire world, Bam, you know that. Doing things for her, to make her happy, is the same as doing something for me.”

—————

The next week passes with nothing unusual happening. Eunyoung is perhaps a little angrier than normal, but it’s nothing Chan can’t handle with a little posturing. Aeji knows by now that when Eunyoung is ‘throwing a tantrum,’ as she calls it, that she needs to stay quiet and hide herself in the room she shares with Chan, if she isn’t already in there. 

Finally, market day rolls around. This is both Aeji and Chan’s favorite day of the week; neither of them gets out of the house at any other time, so the chance to escape, to be free for even a few hours, is something they cherish.

Chan gathers the bags of laundry that he needs to deliver today. When his mother had died he knew that he would need a source of income aside from Eunyoung if he wanted to care for Aeji. He’d started taking in laundry from those in town; it was something he could do while he was at home taking care of Aeji, but also allowed him to make a fairly decent amount of money. Of course, Eunyoung insisted on claiming part of Chan’s profits (“Consider it payment for letting you stay in my house,” he had sneered. Chan held himself back from pointing out that if he _wasn’t_ staying in Eunyoung’s house, the man would have to care for Aeji by himself and that, really, Chan was doing his stepfather a favor rather than the other way around), but Chan had ‘accidentally’ forgotten to tell Eunyoung how much money he really made so the amount left behind was enough for him and Aeji to survive. 

Normally, his customers would come by and pick up their own laundry, but since he has to leave the house anyways on Wednesdays he always delivers the clean clothes that he’s received the day before. 

Aeji insists on helping to carry one of the bags, claiming that “Aeji’s a big girl, Channie!”

He laughs and hands her the smallest bag of laundry, even as he says. “You’re not a big girl! You’re my tiny little Ji-ji!”  
  


“Nooo!” She pouts, stomping her foot and crossing in her arms in an attempt to look angry. With the impediment of the laundry sack she refuses to put down, it simply looks comical. “Aeji’s a big girl!”

“Oh really? How big?”

For a moment she goes to open her arms and show him, then seems to remember that she’s holding the laundry bag. Her pout turns into a scowl as she glares up at him (somehow, this just makes her look even cuter). “Channie’s mean! Stop teasing.”  
  


He laughs again. “Sorry Ji-ji. Let’s stop by the toy shop today, okay? Channie will apologize for being mean there.”

She considers it, then nods decisively. “Channie _better_ ‘poligize.”

“I will, baby. I promise.”

He guides her out of the house and they go about delivering the laundry. As soon as they both have a free hand, he reaches out and takes hers. She’s old enough to walk on her own by now, but he thinks he might always need the reassurance that she’s by his side, that she’s still with him. Lord knows what he’s going to do once she’s old enough to go out on her own, much less start courting. He never thought he would become the overprotective father cliche, but he thinks that might be where his life is heading.

They make all the deliveries without any interruptions (although they do take a few minutes at Mrs. Kim’s so that she can coo appropriately when Aeji hands her the laundry bag) and continue on their way to the market. Their first stop, as always, is the Yang’s stall, where Mrs. Yang already has their regular order prepared. By now, pretty much everyone in town knows what Chan is going to buy when he walks up to their stalls, and they’ll have it prepared already, so the trip through the market is fairly quick.

After they finish up, going by every stall (except the butchers; they would stop there after they came back from the castle) they head towards the town plaza. It’s normally full of people, all milling about and today it is just as full as usual, but everyone is gathered around the raised stone platform in the center of the square.

On top of the platform stands a royal crier, a fancy looking scroll held in one hand. He’s clearly nearly at the end of whatever announcement he’s making, and all Chan hears is the end of it. The people disperse as soon as he rolls up the scroll, talking excitedly as they do. 

Aeji frowns at all of them from where she’s perched on Chan’s shoulders. “Channie? Wha’s going on?”

“I don’t know baby,” he says, just as confused. “You want to go find Hyunjin and see if he knows?”  
  


She perks up at that, the way she always does when he mentions one of her pseudo-uncles. “Jinnie!” She cheers, and tugs on his hair, trying to pull her brother in the direction of the toy shop. “Jinnie, Jinnie, Jinnie!”  
  


“Alright, alright, we’re going,” he laughs. Grumbling good naturedly, he adds, “You’d think I was a pack horse, not your brother.” 

Of course, with the selective hearing that all toddlers have, Aeji only catches part of what he says. “Horsie?” She wiggles slightly, obviously excited. “Are we gonna see the Prince’s pony again Channie?”

“Ah - Well…” He clears his throat awkwardly. This is a question he _definitely_ wasn’t prepared for - Aeji hasn’t said much about the royal in the week it’s been since they met. Chan had honestly thought she’d forgotten; the encounter hadn’t lasted for very long after all. Clearly though, she hasn’t. “I don’t think so, Ji-ji. The Prince is a very important man, he’s probably too busy helping to rule the country.

“Oh,” she says sullenly. “But… But I wanna ride the pony ‘gain.”

“I know, honey, I’m sorry.” It’s times like this when Chan hates that his mother left the palace. Although he wasn’t royalty, growing up he had still been allowed to help train the horses or to exercise them. If they still lived there, Aeji would be able to ride as many horses as she wanted.

Before Chan can brood much longer about their lost prospects, they arrive at the toy shop and Aeji starts tugging at his hair, whining for him to let her down. He does and she dashes off into the store, as he calls after her to stay where he can see her. She isn’t running to the toys, though. Instead she dashes up to the bored looking man behind the counter. “Jinnie!” She yells, throwing her arms around his legs. 

He immediately grabs her and pulls her up onto his lap. “Aeji! My beautiful girl!” He plants a big kiss on her cheek. “How are we today, Princess?”

She makes herself comfortable on his lap and starts babbling about all of the people that they talked to in the market. Chan watches, amused and fond at once. He briefly catches Hyunjin’s eye; the younger boy looks just as besotted with the little girl as Chan himself. 

“Baby,” he calls, stepping forward, “why don’t you see what toys you like, yeah? We can get you one new one today.”

Aeji’s face lights up. “Really?”

Chan nods. “Really. But just one, so you have to make sure it’s the best toy in here, alright?”

She nods and slides down from Hyunjin’s lap before darting for the toy shelves. With her gone, or at least out of earshot, Chan sighs and settles on the floor by Hyunjin’s feet. “How are you, Jinnie?”

“I’m good. How about you?”

“Tired. But what else is new, right?” Chan chuckles slightly, although Hyunjin doesn’t seem to find similar mirth in his statement. “Say, what was the announcement in the square earlier? Aeji and I arrived right at the very end.”

“Oh, that. Well, seems the King and Queen have decided it’s time for the Prince to get married, but instead of picking a random royal for him, they’re inviting the entire kingdom to a masquerade ball in three weeks. The Prince will pick someone to court from the ball’s attendees.”

“Huh.” Chan mulls over this news for a moment, then asks, “You’re going to go, right?”

“Yeah, probably. I’ve got Seungmin, obviously, but a party is a party.”  
  


“Well, you’ll have to tell me all about it afterwards.”

“What?” Hyunjin frowns down at Chan. “You’re not going?”

“How can I? Aeji can’t go, so I can’t go.”  
  


“Chan, there are plenty of people who would be more than happy to watch Aeji.” Hyunjin sounds exasperated. This is an argument they’ve had before, everytime Chan has turned down the chance to spend time with his friends. “You can take a night off, you know.”

Chan is still watching his sister as she rummages through a pile of stuffed animals. “How can I? What if I leave her alone and Eunyoung takes her away?”

“You really think he’d care enough to try and do that?”  
  


“I can’t take any chances.”  
  


Hyunjin sighs. “Channie, you know I love you, and I love Aeji, but you’ve barely spent anytime apart from her since she was born. That kind of co-dependence can’t be healthy for her or for you.”

“How can I risk it though? How can I leave her alone, knowing that there’s a chance I might never see her again?”

“One night won’t hurt, surely. Leave her with Mrs. Yang - she’d be happy to babysit, and you know there’s no way she’d let Eunyoung touch her.”

“I don’t know…”

He sighs again. “Fine. But you’ve got three weeks until the ball; think about it, okay?”

Even though he knows he won’t change his mind, Chan agrees. At this point, this is just one more sacrifice he has to make for Aeji and, like all the ones previous, he makes it happily.  
  


—————

Unfortunately, BamBam accosts him with the exact same queries when they arrive at the palace. Chan makes his excuses again, although it’s clear that BamBam is just as fed up with him as Hyunjin was. 

“You haven’t had time to yourself since you were a teenager. It’s about time you did something for you.”

Chan sighs. “BamBam, I literally just had this same argument with Hyunjin, can we please not do this right now?”

“Fine. But don’t think I’m going to let this go. I’ve known about the ball for weeks, and I’ve had a suit and a mask made for you.”

“What - BamBam!” Chan gapes at him. “You can’t just make me a suit!”

“It’s my money, I can do what I want with it.”

“Oh just - shut up and play with Aeji.” 

BamBam laughs and crouches down to the girl so she can show off her new stuffed pony. “Alright, you win - for now.”

Chan huffs. “If that’s what you want to think.”

“I don’t think, I know.”

“Oh, you -”

“Excuse me?”

The voice that interrupts is deep, the sound familiar, and Chan already knows who it’s going to be before he turns around to see Prince Yongbok standing in the doorway. “Your highness,” he says, dropping into a bow.

Aeji has no such regard for customs and deference. She rushes forward and throws her arms around Yongbok’s legs. “It’s you!”

The Prince smiles down at her fondly. “Hello again, Princess.”

She giggles and holds out her arms to get picked up. Yongbook happily complies, and soon she’s balanced on his hip, a curious hand playing with the ruffled neckline of his jacket.

He smiles at Chan. “Hello to you as well. I’m afraid I didn’t catch your name last time, Mr…”  
  


“Chan,” he replies, bowing again. “Very nice to see you again, Prince Yongbok.”

“I’m sorry for interrupting you, but this is, I must admit, perfect timing. I had no idea when next you would come to the palace, so I was hoping BamBam could give this to you.” He holds out a letter and a sack. The sack jingles with the tell-tale sound of coins. “A thank you, for saving me.”

“Sir, I just did what anyone would do, this is really unnecessary -”

“Nonsense! You probably saved my life; at the very least you prevented me from getting seriously injured. The least I can do is give you this.” Chan still hesitates to take it, and so the Prince steps closer. “Please?”  
  


Unable to resist the power of the pout that the Prince is wearing (a look which is perhaps just as deadly as Aeji’s), Chan reluctantly takes the sack. “Thank you very much, your highness.”

“I should be the one thanking you,” Yongbok replies with a smile. Chan had thought he’d remembered how beautiful that smile was, the way it made the whole room light up, but he’d clearly not because it’s even more beautiful than it had been in the dreams he’d had the past week. “I’ll take my leave now, and let the three of you catch up.”

“Actually, your highness,” BamBam says, speaking up for the first time since the Prince entered the room, “would you perhaps like to give Aeji a tour of the palace? She seems quite attached to you.”

Aeji’s eyes light up at that and with a sinking feeling in his gut Chan realizes that he’s about to let the crown prince babysit for him for the rest of the afternoon. “Can we? Please?” She pouts up at Yongbok, who smiles at her without hesitation. 

“Of course, Princess. I would be delighted to spend time with a lady such as yourself. If, of course, your brother is okay with it.”

Aeji turns her pout on him then, and he’s agreeing almost immediately. His nerves at letting this happen are worth it to see Aeji beam with happiness. He asks the Prince to return her by a certain time, and waves at Aeji as they set off.

As soon as they’re gone, he sinks into one of the chairs in front of BamBams desk. “What,” he says slowly, “the actual _fuck.”_

On the other side of the desk from him, BamBam just laughs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry it took so long to do chapter 2 I've just been in a weird headspace for most of quarantine. I promise I'll try and be quicker with the other chapters!
> 
> follow me on twitter @seungchxn  
> messages me on cc curiouscat.me/seungchxn
> 
> please leave comments and kudos (especially comments) to help motivate me!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw for verbal child/domestic abuse and threats of violence. nothing comes of it, but it is present

The next three weeks pass as they normally would, with Chan dodging his stepfather every chance he gets. The village, and even the castle, are abuzz with news of the masquerade ball, especially as the day of the event gets ever nearer, but Chan can’t bring himself to care. He has Aeji to worry about and no matter how his friends assure him she’ll be safe for one night he can’t bring himself to quiet his fears.

Finally, the big day arrives. Although normally their schedule would dictate that they go to the palace today, with everything going on Chan has decided to give BamBam a day off from looking after them. He’s sure, after all, that his friend is doing his best not to run around like a chicken with its head cut off. Besides, if they went to the palace, Aeji would want to spend time with the Prince – seeing that this is an event designed for him to pick out someone to court, Chan is sure he has other things on his mind besides entertaining a toddler for most of the day.

It astounds him, whenever he thinks about it, that Aeji has somehow become dear to the Prince; the last two times they’ve been to the palace, Aeji has been whisked away by a pair of maids as soon as they were inside and taken to spend the afternoon playing with Prince Yongbok. Chan never sees them, preferring to hide out in BamBam’s office rather than potentially have to see the Prince’s breathtaking smile, but Aeji is never anything but smiles when they reunite.

The day of the ball is, for the most part, entirely normal. Chan and Aeji go about their normal routine – minus the trip to the palace – before returning to their house. Aeji spends the afternoon playing on the kitchen floor while Chan makes her favorite dinner; if he can’t let her see her new best friend today, he’ll be damned if he doesn’t give her a small treat at the very least in order to make up for it. They’re still in the kitchen when Eunyoung comes home. 

He slams into the house, throwing the door open with a bang. As soon as they hear him stomping inside, Aeji grabs her toys, holding them tight to her chest, and curls up behind Chan’s legs. He runs a soothing hand through her hair, stealing his nerves for the fight he is certain is about to happen.

Sure enough, Eunyoung storms into the kitchen. He’s clearly drunk already, eyes bloodshot and haggard. He stumbles, barely catching himself against the wall. Seeing Chan, he sneers. 

“What are you looking at,  _ boy?” _ The words are slurred, but the malice behind them is evident.

“Nothing, sir,” Chan replies, always deferential; he’d learned early on that engaging with Eunyoung only made things worse.

“Good,” he snaps. Then his gaze zeros in on Aeji, cowering behind her brother’s legs. “Hello, brat.” He practically spits it at her, face full of vitriol.

“Don’t call her that,” Chan says, voice even. 

Eunyoung just laughs harshly. “Don’t give me orders, boy, or I’ll toss you out of this house before you have time to blink.”

Swallowing down his pride, Chan replies, “Sorry, sir. It won’t happen again.”

“That’s what I thought.” Eunyoung slams the bottle of liquor he’s holding down onto the kitchen table, sinking into one of the chairs. When Chan and Aeji both just keep watching him, he growls. “Do either of you have something to say?”

Now that he’s sitting, Chan gently nudges Aeji towards the kitchen door. “Go to your room, sweetheart,” he says softly. “Alright?”

She nods, and dashes out of the room. Chan waits until he can hear her door shut before turning back to dinner with a minute sigh of relief.

Behind him, Eunyoung laughs, although there’s no mirth to it. “You really care about that little piece of shit, don’t you.”

“She’s my sister, sir.”

“She’s the reason your mother is fucking six feet under.” Although Chan doesn’t turn around, he can hear Eunyoung take a long drink from his bottle. 

“She’s my sister,” he repeats. “She’s your daughter.”

The bottle slams down on the table and Chan whips around just in time to watch Eunyoung shoot to his feet. “That fucking  _ thing _ is  _ not _ my daughter - it’s what killed my wife. She’s better off dead as far as I’m concerned!” he roars. Chan spares a brief thought for Aeji; she can definitely hear what’s being said, which breaks his heart. “It’s only out of the goodness of my heart that I haven’t tossed the two of you out the fucking door, and you’d do well to remember that. Maybe I should; if there’s any justice in this world you’ll both die on the street and then you certainly won’t be my fucking problem anymore.” 

Chan can’t take it anymore; in all the years since Aeji came into their lives, Eunyoung has never said anything like this before. Normally the insults he spews are all directed at Chan. He can take the insults, has taken the insults, and is willing to continue doing so as long as Aeji is safe. But saying his precious little girl is better off dead? That’s crossing a line and it’s the last bit of provocation that he needs to snap.

“Shut the fuck up!” He shouts. “You drunken piece of shit! You wouldn’t even get food on your fucking table if it wasn’t for me. My mother is dead because of  _ you, _ not Aeji - who is, by the way, the only good thing you’ve ever created in your entire fucking miserable existence!”

For a moment, all is silent in the kitchen other than the sound of Chan breathing heavily. Then, Eunyoung snarls.

“The fuck did you just say to me, boy?” He’s moving then, moving quickly, coming towards Chan with fire and rage in his eyes. Desperate to defend himself, Chan reaches for the knife on the counter, pointing it at Eunyoung.

“Don’t come a single step closer,” he says, voice strong even as he’s quickly being overcome by fear. “I’ll gut you.”

Eunyoung laughs, the sound almost crazed, and takes a step forward. “You wouldn’t dare. You don’t have the stomach.”

“You’re right,” Chan admits. “I don’t.” Without giving any other cues as to his plan, he suddenly tosses the knife at his stepfather, immediately turning tail to run out of the kitchen. Based on the lack of screaming, he assumes that Eunyoung dodges it, but he doesn’t stop to check. 

Aeji is peeking her head out of the door to the room they share. She moves out of the way when she sees him coming and he rushes inside, slamming the door behind himself and latching it firmly. 

He’s not a moment too soon either: in the next second Eunyoung is at the door, pounding on it, shouting insults and curses at him. Chan gathers Aeji to his chest, holding her tight as she trembles and cries. “Shh, shh baby,” he murmurs soothingly. “It’s okay; we’re safe in here.”

It takes what seems like hours (although it’s probably only minutes), but finally Eunyoung stops banging on the door, resigning himself to the fact that he won’t be able to get in. They hear him, still cursing, as he stumbles his way out of the house, slamming the front door with a bang. Even then, Chan waits another five minutes before he deems it safe to unlatch the door. He grabs the bag he’d long prepared in case he and Aeji had ever had to flee the house and slings it over his shoulder. 

“Daddy?” Aeji’s voice is shaking, and his heart breaks. “What do we do?”

He smiles down at her, tries not to show how serious things are. “Channie and Ji-ji are going to go stay at Mrs. Yang’s tonight, okay? Do you want to bring any toys with you?” She nods and he pushes her gently in the direction of the small toy chest. “Grab your two favorites, okay? Just two.”

She does, coming back with a stuffed rabbit that their mother had bought when she first learned she was pregnant and the princess doll Chan had given her for her second birthday. Wordlessly, she lifts her arms and he picks her up, dropping a kiss on her forehead. 

Once he opens the door, he doesn’t stop moving until they’re out of the house. Eunyoung hasn’t stuck around outside, isn’t lying in wait for them, but Chan still moves quickly, unwilling to risk his stepfather returning before they can get away. Before today, Chan has never worried that Eunyoung would physically hurt Aeji, considering the fact that the man could barely stand to look at her, but now he’s not so sure. 

They finally make it to the Yang’s house; Mrs. Yang takes one look at them and lets them inside without question. Jeongin, seemingly also sensing that something is wrong, immediately leads Aeji to the corner of their main room, pulling out some of his younger brother’s old toys to help distract her. 

Mrs. Yang leads Chan into the kitchen, although Aeji is still visible out of the corner of his eye. “What happened?” she asks softly.

Chan hasn’t cried about Eunyoung since he was fourteen, but it takes everything in him not to do so now. “He threatened her,” he says, voice cracking. “I had to get her out of the house, she couldn’t stay there he – he’s barely even looked at her before now, but he was so drunk and the things he was saying –”

“Shh, shh, just breathe darling.” She strokes a hand gently up and down his arm, seemingly knowing that a hug would make him feel worse, but that he still needed physical comfort. “You’re both safe here. You can stay as long as you need to, I promise.”   
  


“I hate to impose –”

She cuts him off, voice firm but kind. “Chan, I’ve never pushed you when it comes to accepting our help because I know how you are, but you are  _ not _ a charity case. We are your friends, helping you out while you’re in a tight spot because that’s what friends  _ do. _ So don’t apologize, and don’t assume you’re imposing on our hospitality. If it means you’re away from that bastard, we are more than happy to have you, understand?”

He nods shakily and she smiles at him, before gently shooing him out to the main room to watch over his sister. Aeji falls asleep quickly, before she can even eat anything, the stress of what has just happened catching up with her. Gently, he carries her to Jeongin’s room, where there’s an empty bed now that his older brother has gotten married and moved out. He makes sure she’s tucked in tight, before slipping out of the room and shutting the door gently behind himself.

Back in the main room, Jeongin is dressed in his best clothes, his mother fussing over some imaginary lint on his collar. It takes Chan a minute to figure out why, before he remembers that tonight is the masquerade ball. With everything that had happened, he’d completely forgotten.

Mrs. Yang turns and frowns at him when she sees he isn’t dressed up. “It’s almost time to leave for the party, why aren’t you getting ready?”

“I’m not going,” Chan admits, somewhat sheepishly; he has a feeling he’s about to get a lecture about taking time for himself. “My plan for the night was looking after Aeji.”   
  


Her frown deepens. “Well that’s no good. You have to go! This is a once in a lifetime experience, and I know you always loved watching the balls the royal family would throw when you still lived at the palace. You can’t pass up the opportunity to experience one in person! Do you have any fancy clothes or shall we go raid my husband’s closet? I’m sure he won’t mind you borrowing a suit for the night.”

“My friend BamBam prepared some clothes and a mask for me, but they’re in his office at the palace. But I really don’t think I should go, I need to stay with –”

“Nonsense! I am perfectly capable of watching over a child; lord knows I raised five of them. Now go, shoo!”

“Mrs. Yang, I’d really rather –”

She ignores him, pushing him and her son towards the door. “Come back early if you don’t want to stay out all night. But no earlier than midnight! If I see you before then I’ll drag you back to the palace myself.”

“Mrs. Yang –”

“Jeongin,” she instructs her son firmly, “don’t let him sit in the corner and sulk the entire evening. And Chan…” her voice softens and the smile she gives him is sad, although not with pity. “You deserve to have a break from being a father. Take the night off; Aeji will be safe with me, I promise.”

He knows he won’t win this argument, but he’s willing to compromise. “Just until midnight?”

“And not a minute sooner.”

He nods and lets Jeongin excitedly drag him out the door. It seems he’ll be attending the masquerade ball after all.

—————

BamBam is still in his office when Chan arrives, sneaking in through the servants entrance while Jeongin goes through the main gate and enters the party alone. He startles when Chan enters his office unannounced, but smiles happily once he realizes who it is. “You came? I didn’t think you would?”

“Yeah, well, Mrs. Yang can be very persuasive. You wouldn’t happen to still have those clothes you said you got for me, would you?”

His friend gestures to a chair in the corner of his office, where one of the nicest suits Chan has ever seen is laid out. “I wasn’t sure if you’d come, but I thought maybe between all of your friends one of us would have talked some sense into you, so I had the maids lay it out. Quickly, try it on!” 

Chan ducks into the small powder room attached to BamBam’s office and swaps out his normal day clothes for the suit. The suit itself is beautiful; the fabric of the frock coat and pants is a deep midnight blue, the silver buttons and cufflinks polished and gleaming. The boots are a deep black, the leather of them soft and supple. Putting it on, tying the white cravat around his neck and tucking it into the coat, almost feels like he’s committing a crime; the fabric is the softest he’s ever worn, sliding smoothly over his skin. He feels incredibly out of place wearing it, and is suddenly stricken by the fear that everyone who sees him will  _ know _ that he doesn’t belong here.

BamBam seems to think differently, whistling at him when he nervously steps out of the powder room. “Damn, I did good. You look gorgeous, Channie.”

“I feel like an overdressed fool,” he shoots back, fiddling with the frilled edges of his shirt sleeves, which peek out from the frock coat. 

“Maybe you feel like one, but you don’t look the part. Trust me. All you need is one last finishing touch.”

He holds out a mask and Chan takes it gently. The mask is gorgeous, a deep blue that matches the suit with swirling silver embellishments. It covers nearly his entire face, leaving only his eyes visible. With the mask on he has to admit, as he looks at himself in the full length mirror BamBam has in his office, that he looks good.

BamBam steps up next to him and smiles, before slipping his own mask, which only covers the upper half of his face, on. “Ready to go?”

Chan takes a deep breath. “As I’ll ever be.”

—————

The ballroom, already grand in its own right, has been done up splendidly; clearly, the royal family is pulling out all the stops for tonight. It’s already full, people mingling as a group of musicians sitting in the corner play an upbeat song. The dance floor is filled; in the time it took for him to get changed the royal family must have arrived, for it was common courtesy to let the hosts lead the first dance. They’re nowhere in sight, however, lost somewhere in the throngs of people.

Chan spots Jeongin on the other side of the ballroom, talking to Hyunjin and Seungmin. He nearly goes over and joins them, but stops at the last minute and moves to go outside instead. The doors to the terrace are open, but not many people are out here, and he’s able to slip into the garden easily enough. He wanders for a while, just taking in the familiar sights; he may have been to the palace recently, but never up here, never to the gardens reserved for guests and royals. Last time he was here in this particular garden, though, is one of the last moments of true happiness that he remembers.

Almost unconsciously, his feet lead him to the bench where he watched the ball all those years ago. He sits, looks up at the windows. He can see the people milling about inside, hear the music playing. He closes his eyes for a moment, indulging in the soft strains of violin as they float towards him on the breeze.

“You look like you’re enjoying yourself.”

Chan startles, letting out a tiny yelp as he nearly falls backwards off the bench. His eyes snap open and he sees a well-dressed man standing in front of him, a full-face mask obscuring his identity. “Who are you?”

Instead of answering, the man says apologetically, “Sorry! Sorry, I thought you heard me coming.” His voice is high pitched, but it almost sounds forced. as if he’s trying to hide how he naturally sounds. 

“It’s fine,” Chan replies, unwilling to start a fight with a man who probably spends more money in a day than Chan makes in a week. “It’s my fault for not paying attention.”

“Do you mind if I sit?” There’s hesitance in the man’s voice, as though he’s afraid he’ll be denied. As much as Chan would like to continue enjoying the garden on his own, however, he’s not going to be a dick about this; he gestures for the man to sit down. He does and, after a moment in which he’s very clearly unsure what to do, sticks out his hand. “I’m Felix.”

Chan whips his head around to face him. “Did you say your name was Felix?”

“Yes. Why?”

Could it be… It’s almost too much to hope that they’d be reunited after all this time, but Chan can’t stop himself from wishing for it. “My name is Chris.”

“Chris…?” The question is barely audible, breathed out on a sigh of sudden, indescribable hope. “Did you… All those years ago, we…”

“We danced,” Chan confirms. Invisible under his mask, a wide smile spreads across his face. “Yes.”

Suddenly Felix throws his arms around Chan, hugging him tightly. “Oh my god! I never thought I’d see you again!” The words seem to just spill out of him. “I looked for you at the next ball, and the next, and every single one since, but you were never there.

“I left the palace shortly after that night and never came back. If I’d known you were looking for me - but I had no idea our encounter would even be memorable.”

“Are you kidding me? Of course it was.” Felix pulls away then, rather abruptly, as though he’s only just realized they were still embracing. Sheepishly, he runs at the back of his neck. “I never really had friends as a child - you were kind of the only one, even if we only knew each other for a little bit.”

Chan is shocked: this noble boy considers him a friend, even based on only one dance?  _ Him? _ It seems preposterous, but he’s hardly going to say that and ruin the joy the other man has at them meeting again. “I’m honored,” he says softly, and watched as Felix’s eyes light up in happiness. “I’m sorry it’s taken us so long to meet again.”

Felix shakes his head. “It doesn’t matter. I shouldn’t have expected the world to bend to my every whim, even if only to let me have a friend. I’m only glad we are able to meet again, after so long.”

“Me too,” Chan replies. He means it; for so long, that night, that shared dance that was filled with laughter and smiles and stepped-on toes has been the happy memory he turns to when everything in his life seems to bleak for him to go on. “I’m only sorry to have left you alone all these years.”

“It’s not your fault. And it’s behind us now; we’ve reunited at last.” His voice turns teasing. “Tell me, has your dancing gotten any better since the last time we met?”

Were anyone else asking that question, Chan would probably be offended, even if only slightly; instead he just laughs and sheepishly admits that it probably hasn’t. “I don’t get many chances to practice,” he says. Unless you counted him twirling around the room with Aeji standing on his toes, but he didn’t think Felix would.

Standing, Felix holds out his hand. “I imagine you can’t have gotten much worse, although I will need to see you dance in order to tell.”

Chan grins at him, even if it can’t be seen. “Do those kinds of lines normally work for you?”

“I’ve never had a chance to try any of them before tonight, so you’ll have to tell me.”

Laughing, Chan takes his hand and stands. “I guess they do work.”

The music drifting in from the ballroom is upbeat, a faster paced song, and so the dance Felix leads him in matches it. Not that it could be called much of a dance - there’s no clear step pattern and it’s fairly obvious that Felix is making it up as he goes. That doesn’t mean Chan isn’t enjoying himself - between the clumsy way they’re both stumbling around and the ridiculous jokes Felix keeps throwing out to try and make him laugh, Chan can’t remember the last time he had this much fun. He never wants the night to end.

Eventually they stop dancing and instead stroll together through the gardens. Felix clearly loves plants as he keeps stopping to point out specific kinds of flowers and trees and, in one instance, the hanging vines that have grown over a stone archway. Chan is fascinated; he’s never cared all that much about plants, but he could listen to Felix talk for ages. Watching his eyes light up with joy, especially when it becomes clear that Chan is actually listening and not just humoring him, is a delight all on it’s own.

After wandering so long they lose track of time, they make it back to what Chan is trying not to think of as their bench. The ball is still in full swing, the music still playing as couples whirl around on the dance floor. They don’t sit down, just stand there and watch as the people inside dance and mingle. Neither of them say anything, content to just  _ be. _ Chan doesn’t think he’s ever known anyone that he could truly be comfortable in silence with - that is, before Felix.

As one song fades out, another faces in: a slow waltz. Beside him, Felix takes a deep breath as though fortifying his nerves, before turning and holding out his hand to Chan. “May I have this dance?”

Without a second thought Chan takes his hand. “You may.”

Slowly, eyes locked on Chan, Felix brings his hand to his mouth, the same way he did so long ago. He can’t kiss Chan’s hand, but he presses the porcelain lips of his mask against skin, a facsimile of the actual action. Without needing to be prompted Chan puts his other hand on Felix’s shoulder.

Wordlessly, they begin to dance, eyes never leaving each other. The atmosphere between them is suddenly charged, the air thick with it. Something is about to change, Chan thinks, although he doesn’t know what.

Slowly, ever so slowly, they stop spinning, stop following the steps of the dance, until they’re standing in place. The music is still playing, but it’s almost like it’s muffled; all Chan can focus on is his hand in Felix’s and his body pressed up against the other man’s. 

“Chris,” Felix murmurs. His hand slips from Chan’s waist and comes up to cradle his face through the mask.  _ “Chris.” _

“Felix,” he replies, caught in the thrall that exists between the two of them. Felix’s hand begins to push his mask up, just making it past Chan’s lips when suddenly -

_ Bong. Bong. Bong. Bong. Bong. Bong. Bong. Bong. Bong. Bong. Bong. Bong. _

The ringing of a bell sounds throughout the garden, marking the hour as midnight. The sound startles Chan from the haze of  _ felixyesplease _ that he’d fallen into and he jerks back, mask falling safely back into place. He told Mrs. Yang he’d be back by midnight - he has to get back to Aeji. Besides, who is he kidding, a noble taking interest in him? There’s no way that, even if Felix is serious, anything could ever come of it. Better to spare himself the heartache.

“Chris?” Felix asks, concerned. “What’s wrong?”

“I have to go.”

“What?”

“I have to go, I’m sorry, I can’t – I can’t stay, I need to leave.”

He turns to run and Felix reaches out and grabs his hand. “Chris, please, what’s wrong? Is it anything I can help with?”

“No!” He shakes off Felix’s hand. “I have to go.”

Without another word, he takes off, running out of the garden, back into the ballroom. He can hear Felix chasing him, but he doesn’t pay him any mind. He just keeps running, even as guests shriek and jump out of his way, as Felix calls desperately for someone to stop him, as a guard tries to get in his path, only to have to leap aside at the last minute rather than get run over. He runs and runs, not stopping to get his clothes from BamBam’s office, moving through the old passageways and staircases that the servants use to quickly navigate the palace. He runs until he’s outside, and then he keeps running until the lights of the palace, and the sound of Felix calling after him, fade into the distance. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> boy oh boy it's been a hot minute since i wrote anything for this story huh? sorry about that i've been Stressed about schoolwork/covid for most of the year.
> 
> personally i am of the opinion that chan should have gutted eunyoung but i guess we can't always get what we want :(
> 
> please leave kudos and comments (especially comments) as they help motivate me to keep writing!
> 
> find me on twt @seungchxn


	4. Chapter 4

When he gets back to the Yang's house, he slips into the sleeping clothes that he had packed and slides into the bed with his sister, curling around her protectively. Everything that had happened that night feels almost like a dream; but, he reminds himself firmly, a dream is all it can ever be.

—————

The next morning, Jeongin is back from the ball and all he can talk about is the mysterious stranger who ran away. Chan tries to tune him out, already knowing the details of what happens, but then Jeongin says something in particular that practically makes him choke on his food. 

"Say that again?" he croaks. 

Jeongin frowns, puzzled. "I don't know why someone would run away from the Prince?" 

"The mysterious man was running from Crown Prince Yongbok?" Chan can hardly believe what he's hearing.

"Yeah! It's crazy right? Why would anyone run away if Prince Yongbok wanted to court them? I know I certainly wouldn't." 

“I’m sorry, did you say that Prince Yongbok wants to court him?" He can feel the panic building; this can't be happening.

Jeongin nods enthusiastically. "He ordered gourd to try and stop the man but it didn't work and he got away. Then the king and queen asked what was going on and he told him he wanted to court him. The prince even got down on his knees and begged them to let him search for him." 

"And? What did they say?" Maybe he would get lucky and the king and queen would put a stop to everything. 

"They said yes." 

—————

Chan resolves to simply let it go, to put the night out of his mind as best as he can. There isn’t very much else he can do after all. Besides, he reasons, the Prince never saw his face or learned his real name. With any luck that means he’s safe.

He forgets, however, to account for BamBam. 

Mrs Yang tells him to take the day off, that she’ll let his customers know that they’ll be getting their laundry a day late. She takes Aeji with her when she and Jeongin go to the market, despite Chan’s protests, saying that he deserves a day for himself. Aeji promises to be good, and Jeongin promises to hide her and/or run if Eunyoung shows up; all of this culminates in Chan alone in the Yang’s house when BamBam knocks on the front door.

Chan nearly slams the door shut in his face when he sees him. BamBam is just barely able to catch it with his foot. “Channie…” he says, imploringly. “Please let me in?”

“I don’t suppose you’ll go away if I ask nicely, will you?”

“Chan.”

He sighs, but steps away from the door. “I’m not going to like this conversation, am I?”

“Probably not!” is BamBam’s cheerful response as he pushes past Chan and into the house.

“How did you even know I was here?”

“I stopped by the market first; I wanted to get one of Mrs. Yang’s fruit pies and she let me know where I could find you. Why didn’t you tell me last night that Eunyoung had tried to attack you?”

Chan practically snorts as he sinks down onto the couch. “And when should I have done that? Before or after you bullied me into going to the ball?”

BamBam sits next to him and reaches out to take his hand. “Chan, I’m your best friend, right?”

“Of course.”

“Then let me help you. That’s what friends do.” BamBam’s words are an echo of what Mrs. Yang had told Chan the night before. “I’ve told you before – I can get you a job at the palace easily enough. You and Aeji could come live there.”

“And I’ve told you – I’m not Aeji’s legal guardian. If Eunyoung tried to take her away from me I wouldn’t have a choice.”

“Maybe that was true once, but Aeji is practically best friends with Prince Yongbok now. He wouldn’t let her stay with Eunyoung. And speaking of Prince Yongbok…”

Chan groans and feels his face heat up. “BamBam…”

His friend just laughs. “Oh no, you’re not getting out of this one. Do you think I wouldn’t recognize my best friend? And running away from the Crown Prince no less… Someone certainly had an eventful night, hm?”

“In my defense, I didn’t know he was the Crown Prince,” Chan mumbles, voice muffled due to the fact that he’s buried his head in his hands.

BamBam laughs then, loud and hard. “Right, of course you didn’t.” When Chan’s only response is a strangled whine, his laughter fades. “Tell me you’re joking. Tell me you didn’t spend the night flirting with the Crown Prince without knowing it was him.”

“If that’s what you’re waiting to hear, we’re going to be here a while.”

“You see Prince Yongbok nearly every time you come to the palace - how did you not recognize his voice?”

“He had it pitched higher. Plus, he didn’t tell me his name was Yongbok.”

BamBam frowns. “He gave you a fake name? But… Oh.” His gaze clears and understanding flashes across his face before he begins to laugh.

“I don’t see what’s so funny,” Chan says, even as BamBam continues to laugh. “Some best friend you are, laughing at my troubles.”

“I’m sorry, it’s just –” BamBam is practically gasping for air by this point. “It’s just – of all the people I would expect I never thought it would be you! All these years the Prince has been going on these wild goose chases and all along you’ve been right here!”

“What on earth are you talking about -”

“You’re Chris, aren’t you?”

Chan freezes. “What?”

“You are! You’re Chris! No wonder he was so insistent that he be allowed to court you – he’s only been looking for you for years!”

“BamBam, what on earth are you talking about? How do you know about that?” Felix – Yongbok – had mentioned that he’d looked for Chan ever since they first met, but he made it sound like he only did so at balls. If BamBam knew about it, odds were that the Prince had looked for him in many more places than just at royal events.

“Prince Yongbok told me – Christ, I can’t believe he’s been looking for so long and you were just right here.”

“BamBam, what the fuck are you talking about?” His patience is running thin; he doesn’t mean to snap, but he really just wants to know what is happening.

“Ok so after this one ball when he was about nine years old, Prince Yongbok wouldn’t stop talking about making this friend named Chris. He never talked about it where his parents could hear because he knew he wasn’t supposed to have snuck out of the party to talk to servants, but everyone else heard about how amazing Chris was - how he and the Prince danced and laughed and stepped on each other's feet. All the other staff members really just humored him, but I promised to help him find Chris, even though I was only a child myself. Ever since, the Prince has been scouring this kingdom and its neighbors for his mystery man. He’s never had any success.”

“That’s because it wasn’t long after that ball that I wasn’t a servant anymore,” Chan says as the pieces all start to fall into place. “He was looking for a fake name holding a job I didn’t have.”

“Exactly! But you two must have met last night – obviously, or I wouldn’t be here – and reconnected right? And he’s spent so long looking for Chris that he was desperate enough to chase after you when you ran away.” BamBam levels an accusing (although not very; it’s clear he’s joking) glare at Chan. “You’re the reason half the kingdom is in a tizzy this morning, and I bet you have the audacity to not even be sorry about it.”

Chan smiles weakly. “To be fair, I didn’t ask for any of this.”

“Still! Now that I know you’re Chris as well as the one who ran away last night, I have to tell Prince Yongbok –”

“No!” Chan grabs BamBam’s arm as his friend tries to stand up. “You can’t tell him.”

“What? Chan, this is literally the answer to all of your problems! If you and Prince Yongbok are courting there’s no way he wouldn’t make sure Aeji comes to live in the palace. Hell, he’d be more than happy to help you raise her.”

“And if things go wrong? If he courts me for a week and then decides that I’m not what he was expecting and he wants nothing to do with me anymore? What then? Do I go back to Eunyoung? I can’t risk it, not when it would have such an effect on Aeji’s life. She’s my first priority, you know that.”

“But what if things go right?” BamBam counters. “What if you find love and happiness and Aeji gets to grow up a Princess, with everything she could ever want? What if Eunyoung is never allowed near her again? And what about you? What if you get to be happy, Chan? Isn’t that worth taking a risk for?”

Chan just shakes his head. “I can’t, Bam. I just… I can’t.”

BamBam simply stares at him for a long moment, gaze intense and searching. Finally, he sighs. “Very well. I’ll respect your wishes. But if you change your mind…”

“I won’t. But if I do I know where to find you.”

—————

When the Yangs and Aeji return from the market later that afternoon, Chan practically snatches Aeji from Jeongin’s arms.

“Hey baby girl,” he coos, giving her a big hug. “I missed you today. How was the market?”

He lets himself relax as he listens to her babble about all of the things she saw; he hadn’t realized until now just how tense the conversation with BamBam had left him. 

Mrs. Yang smiles at him. “You two go and play together. Jeongin will help me with dinner.”

Chan nods gratefully and occupies his attention fully on his sister. They set up in the corner of the Yang’s front room as she begins describing to him the very complicated relationship between her stuffed rabbit and Jeongin’s old stuffed fox.

When there’s a knock at the door, Chan doesn’t think anything of it. He honestly almost doesn’t hear it; the only reason he turns away from his sister is because Jeongin hurries out of the kitchen to open the door.

“Oh my - Prince Yongbok!” At the sound of the Prince’s name Chan stiffens and turns his back to the door, hoping the Prince hasn’t seen him.

“Hello,” says the Prince, and now that he’s hearing his voice again Chan really doesn’t understand how he didn’t recognize it last night – even with it pitched higher, there’s no way Felix could have been anyone else. “May we come in?”

Jeongin nods eagerly and steps back to allow them entry. Prince Yongbok enters along with several guards (familiar looking ones – Chan thinks they may be the ones he met during the horse incident) and BamBam. Now that the Prince has entered the building, Chan has no choice but to stand and face him in order to bow; to do anything else would be disrespectful. He picks Aeji up and holds her close as he does so.

Aeji squeals when she sees the Prince and begins to squirm around trying to get down. Prince Yongbok also looks delighted to see her, so Chan sets her down and she runs over to him. He crouches to meet her and sweeps her into a hug. “Princess Aeji! How are you?”

“I’m soooo good! I gotta go to th’ market today an’ Jeonginnie gave me pie! An, an, an’ Hyunjinnie came by and played dolls with me!”

“Wow that sounds like so much fun! I’m sad I couldn’t play with you though.” The Prince pouts exaggeratedly. “Can we play again sometime soon?”

She turns back to her brother. “Can we? Can we Channie??”

He smiles indulgently, doing his best to mask his nerves. “Of course, Ji-ji.”

“Right now though, I have some official business to work on.” The Prince ruffles her hair affectionately. “Can you give me a few minutes and then we’ll be able to play?”

She nods happily and skips back to her brother’s side. Chan picks her up again, bending over to grab her almost instinctively. “How can we help you, Prince Yongbok?”

“I’ve come to ask if anyone here attended the ball last night?” The Prince seems almost nervous, shifting awkwardly from foot to foot. BamBam shoots Chan an unreadable glance behind the Prince’s shoulder. “I’m looking for someone who ran away.”

“Chan and I went,” Jeongin replies. “But we lost track of each other once we were there. I was with my friends Hyunjin and Seungmin for most of the night; we spent pretty much all of our time hovering around the food.”

“I left early,” Chan says, hoping his voice isn’t shaking. “Had to get back to Aeji. I only really stayed long enough to get a drink before I left.”

“Did either of you see a man in a midnight blue suit? He had a blue and silver mask, it covered his whole face?” Prince Yongbok sounds almost desperate.

“Sorry. I only saw him when he, you know, ran away,” Jeongin says in apology, while Chan just shakes his head mutely.

“I’m sorry, did you say a midnight blue suit? And a blue and silver full face mask?”

Mrs. Yang emerges from the kitchen then, holding something in her hands. Chan freezes when he sees it. “Mrs. Yang…” His voice comes out as practically a whisper.

She shoots him an unimpressed glance, before holding out the object to the Prince. “Did the mask look anything like this?”

“Yes. Yes, that’s it!” Prince Yongbok almost bounds forward in his excitement to take the mask. “It’s his…” He looks up at Mrs. Yang, hope in his eyes. “Whose is this? Where did you get it?”

“The self-sacrificing idiot who keeps denying himself happiness that’s currently sleeping in my guest room was dumb enough to leave it lying around when he came back from the ball last night. Please! You’ve practically plastered the picture of the mask all over town, as if I wouldn’t recognize it when I saw it.” 

“And where is he?”

She nods towards Chan. “Right behind you of course.”

Prince Yongbok turns around then. “It’s you?”

Having been so thoroughly exposed, Chan knows there’s no point in hiding it. He nods, shortly, trying to disguise how nervous he is. As if she can sense it, Aeji snuggles a little closer in his arms. 

The Prince steps towards him. “Chris?”

“Felix.”

The laugh the Prince lets out then is full of excitement, joy, and disbelief. “I can’t believe… All along you’ve been right here. You’ve been so close.” He steps forward again and reaches out to lay a hand gently on Chan’s arm. “Chan. Chris. Please, come back to the palace with me. Let me court you, let me help you raise Aeji, let me give you the life the two of you deserve.”

Chan shoots a desperate look at BamBam, but his friend just smiles and nods. Say Yes, he mouths. Beside him Jeongin is beaming at Chan, clearly so happy for him. Mrs. Yang has moved to stand next to her son, an arm around his shoulder. When Chan makes eye contact with her, she sighs. 

“Well? Don’t leave the Prince hanging. Say yes, darling!” Her smile softens. “Let yourself be happy, Chan.”

He turns his gaze back to the Prince then. He still looks hopeful as he asks, “Well?”

And here, surrounded by so many people who love him, with his baby sister safe and happy in his arms, Chan decides that maybe, for the first time in a very long time, he’s allowed to be selfish. “Yes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> only a little bit left to go!! next up: chan gets his happy ending
> 
> please leave comments and kudos as they help motivate me to keep writing!!
> 
> find me on twt @seungchxn
> 
> xx c


	5. Chapter 5

Life in the palace takes some getting used to.

He doesn’t have to learn the different rooms of the palace, not the way most people do when they move to a new home. But he grew up navigating these corridors the way a servant would, something he finds himself doing even now when he needs to slip away unnoticed from whatever lord or lady is looking to gain his favor. Most of the kitchen staff are the same people he remembers from his childhood; they’re willing to hide him for a few hours if he needs to get away from the seemingly constant attention of the court.

Aeji, on the other hand, takes to it like a duck to water. Yongbok (“Call me Felix when it’s just us”) had declared her the daughter of the man he was courting, and the whole palace has taken to calling her Princess Aeji, even if she won’t hold the title unless Chan and Felix marry. The people fawn on her, patting her head when she does something cute and smiling when she smiles. She basks in the attention, practically revels in it. One night, as Chan is tucking her in, she asks him if they ever have to leave this place.

Chan can’t decide in that moment whether or not his heart breaks; even if Felix is courting him, and doing so in earnest, part of him still believes this is all too good to be true. Instead of answering, he just kisses her on the head and blows out the candles, wishing her sweet dreams when she sleepily mumbles, “Goodnight, Daddy,” as he leaves.

Eunyoung had, of course, fought to try and take her away from Chan. Seeing the look on his face when Chan and Aeji had showed back up at his house to collect their things, accompanied by the Crown Prince and roughly ten guards, is something Chan will treasure forever. So is the look on his face when Felix informed him that he was never to have any contact with Aeji again, on pain of death. Chan had spent so much of his life cowering from that man; to be able to walk away, head held high, safe in the knowledge that he would never come near Aeji again made him feel as though a weight he hadn’t known existed had been lifted from his chest.

“Penny for your thoughts?” a now familiar voice asks.

Chan startles, turning away from the window where he’s watching Aeji run around in the gardens with some of the noble children, a nanny dutifully watching them all, to look at Felix. “What?”

Felix smiles and slides into the seat opposite Chan. “You looked like you were contemplating something. Is everything alright?”

“Yeah. Yes, of course. Just thinking. It’s hard to believe so much has changed in just a few month’s time.”

“It has changed for the good, though, hasn’t it?”

Chan reaches out to take Felix’s hand, bringing it to his lips and pressing a kiss to his palm. He doesn’t give a verbal answer; he doesn’t need to. Felix knows what he means. 

“Come with me? I have something to show you.” Felix stands as he speaks, not letting go of Chan’s hand in the process.

Chan follows him of course; he’s starting to think that he’d be willing to follow Felix just about anywhere (and isn’t that a scary thought, to have so quickly become reliant on one person when he’s been fully independent for years).

Felix leads him through the palace, out to what Chan has started mentally referring to as their bench. With the garden in full bloom, the area is beautiful, but it’s also fairly secluded. Not many people come out here since it has to be accessed from the ballroom and that just makes it all the more private and intimate. 

They sit on the bench, facing one another. Felix still hasn’t let go of Chan’s hand, which is quite alright in Chan’s book. For the first time since the day Chan agreed to be courted, Felix looks nervous. It nearly makes Chan frown – what could be wrong? Then, of course, his mind goes to the worst case scenario: Felix is ending their courtship.

“Chris,” he says softly. “You and Aeji have been here for eight months now, yes? And you’re happy here?”

“Yes. Why? What is this about?”

“I know you still have a lot of doubts about being here. I know you had doubts about saying yes to me that day. I will forever be grateful that you did; these past few months have been some of the happiest of my life. I love having you and Aeji here.”

“But…?” Chan prompts gently, already mentally preparing himself for heartbreak.

“But I worry that you still don’t think this is permanent. I worry that you think someday I’ll grow tired of you. I’ve looked for you for  _ years, _ Chris. I’m not likely to grow weary of your presence anytime soon. I just wish you would believe that.”

“I’m trying,” Chan replies, feeling a little guilty that this is clearly weighing on Felix so much. “I am, I promise. And I’m getting better about it.”   
  


“I know! This isn’t me blaming you or trying to make you feel bad. I just… I want you to know that I’m not just doing this because I’m trying to convince you or anything. I’m doing this because I want to, more than anything.”

Chan frowns, puzzled. “Doing what?”

His question is soon answered; Felix lets go of his hand as he slides off the bench and onto one knee, pulling a small metallic band out of his pocket as he does. “Chan.  _ Chris. _ This ring was given to me by my grandmother, when I was a young boy. She told me that the only person I should ever give it to must be the one I love, regardless of whether we are able to be together. I can think of no other person to give it to other than you. Please, will you accept this ring and my proposal of marriage?”

Mouth practically hanging open, Chan stares at Felix in shock. “Felix… are you…”

“I love you, Chris. I never wish to be parted. Please, will you marry me?”

It’s all Chan can do to nod his assent; he thinks if he tries to speak he might start crying. Even without that, he’s still fighting to hold back tears. He shakily holds out his hand for Felix to slide the ring on his finger, pressing a reverent kiss to it afterwards. He looks up then and sees the growing tears in Chan’s eyes.

“Oh, darling, are you…”

Chan shakes his head fervently as he gives up trying to contain the flood. “Happy tears, Lix. Happy tears.”

Felix smiles at him, pure happiness shining on his face. “Come here?”

Sliding off the bench and into Felix’s arms, where he’s wrapped in a warm hug until the tears stop and they can celebrate properly, Chan marvels at the fact that, after so long, he’s finally found a place (and a person) that feels like home.

—————

Somehow, if he thought that the attention of the court was overwhelming when they were just courting, it gets worse when Felix announces that they’re engaged.

They tell the king and queen first. When he’d met them the first time, Chan had been nervous; what if they didn’t approve of him? But the king had just given him a firm handshake and said that he trusted his son and the queen had smiled and said that she could think of no one better than the son of her most trusted servant and, indeed, closest friend, for her only child.

Chan had been astonished to learn that she still remembered his mother; he’d known she was the queen’s personal maid, but she had left the job nearly a decade ago. But the queen was apparently quite fond of his mother; Chan found out that they’d corresponded up until her death, although his mother had never let on as to how Eunyoung treated her.

“Had I known,” the queen had said, a fiery anger blazing in her eyes, “I would have never let him near her again.”

It seems that Felix had alerted his parents to his intentions, because when he and Chan enter their private sitting room, hand in hand, the queen practically leaps from her seat. “Well?”

Felix smiles and holds up their joined hands, turning them so that his parents can see the ring. “He said yes.”

Congratulations are passed around and the queen sweeps Chan into a tight hug. “She would be so happy for you,” she whispers in his ear. “She would be so glad her son is happy.”

Chan has to blink quickly to stave off more tears; he’s barely stopped crying from the initial proposal. “Thank you,” he replies, voice slightly choked up. “Thank you so much.”

After that, an announcement is penned and given to criers to be taken and delivered to all parts of the kingdom. WIthin the week, there isn’t a soul who hasn’t heard of the news and all of them seem desperate to meet Chan in person and offer their congratulations. 

He finds himself escaping to BamBam’s office one day, running away from the clutches of a particularly insistent duchess who wishes to ask him about what they’re planning for the table decorations. They haven’t even picked a date yet, and already people are hounding him for the smallest of details. Ignoring BamBam’s startled yelp, he crawls under his legs, hiding underneath his desk. Just in time too, as in the next second the duchess sweeps into the room.

“Ah, Advisor. Have you seen our future prince consort? I was hoping to have a word with him.”

BamBam, ever a good friend, shakes his head. “I haven’t seen him today, I’m afraid. If I run into him, I’ll let him know you’re seeking his company.”

She somehow leaves the room just as grandly as she entered. Chan waits until he hears the door shut before breathing a sigh of relief and clambering out from under the desk. “Heaven above,” he mutters, still sitting on the ground as he drops his head into his hands. “They’re relentless.”

“Wedding planning getting to you already?” BamBam asks with a laugh.

“What wedding planning? It hasn’t even been a week since we got engaged.” Chan groans. “If I have to hear from another countess or earl’s wife or hell, even a servant, about what they think we should do for the colors or the flowers or the banquet afterwards I think I’ll lose my mind. Do you know who came up to me earlier to discuss what style of suit I should wear? Fucking Lord Jeon’s  _ mistress. _ Not his wife, his  _ mistress.”  _

BamBam laughs again. “Oh she is brave. I’d heard she was quite fiery – I think that’s why he keeps her around. Certainly, she must be more exciting than his wife. Listening to that woman talk is as dull as watching paint dry.”

“Not the point!”

“Sorry, sorry. Do you want to hide out in here for the rest of the day?”

Chan turns pleading eyes on his best friend. “Can I?”

“Of course. You know where my sitting room is – go take a nap or something.

Gratefully, Chan steals away into the sitting room attached to BamBam’s office. Inside there’s a large settee with a blanket draped over the back. Chan grabs the blanket and curls up. Closing his eyes, he hopes that when he wakes up maybe things will have calmed down.

He opens his eyes to a beautiful sight: Felix, crouched next to him on the floor, the afternoon sunlight filtering through the windows and silhouetting him like he’s some sort of angel. He’s carding his fingers gently through Chan’s hair, and when he sees his eyes open he smiles. “Hello sleepyhead. Have a nice nap?”

“Hmm delightful. What time is it?”

“You’ve got about a half an hour until dinner. BamBam says you’ve been asleep since nearly noon.” There’s a slight hint of worry in Felix’s eyes. “Is everything okay? Are you sleeping well?”

Chan nods. “Yeah it’s fine. I’ve just been a little stressed recently, it’s nothing for you to worry about.” He sits up as he talks, rubbing sleep from his eyes.

“Stressed? About what? What’s wrong?”

“Like I said, it’s not a huge deal -”

“Chris, I’m your fiance. If you’re stressed about something, I want to know, no matter how much of an issue it is, so that I can help. I don’t want to see you suffering silently if I can do something about it.”

Chan’s heart melts a little bit – how did he end up so lucky to have such a good man fall in love with him? He smiles reassuringly and reaches out to take Felix’s hand. “I promise you, everything is fine. I’m just a little irritated because it seems half of the court wants to offer their opinion on our wedding is all.”

Felix frowns. “Have the courtiers been bothering you? I thought it odd that none of them had come to talk to me, but I didn’t think they’d all have gone to you instead.”

“It’s nothing I can’t handle. I just needed to hide out in BamBam’s office for a bit. Maybe tomorrow I’ll take Aeji into town to get away from everything for a bit.”

“What if…” Felix hesitates for a moment before continuing. “What if I came with you? We could go to the market and buy food then go for a picnic? Make it a family outing. If that’s okay! It’s fine if you’d rather just have some time for you and Aeji.”

Leaning down, Chan presses a quick kiss to Felix’s lips. “I think a family outing with all three of us sounds wonderful.”

—————

Aeji is overjoyed to go into town with them.

For the first time he can remember, Chan rides a horse into town, rather than walking. Felix is beside him on his own horse, the one that he was riding the day they met, now fully trained. Aeji is sitting in front of him, petting the horse's neck absently as she chatters on to Felix about everything from the trees, to a butterfly that flits past them, to the color of the sky. He’s fully engaged in their conversation and Chan almost feels like his heart could burst with happiness as he watches them. 

Finally they get to town. Leaving the horses tied up in the town square, they let Aeji take them where she wants. First stop is, of course, the toy store.

Hyunjin is working today and his face lights up when he sees them. “Aeji!” he cries and she bounds forward happily to throw her arms around him. This isn’t the first time she’s seen him since moving to the palace as Chan had invited his friends over a few times, but she acts as if it’s been months. 

Chan stands back, watching as Aeji catches Hyunjin up on all of what she deems to be important palace gossip (mostly just stories of the games she and her friends have been playing). He feels a hand slip into his and looks over to see Felix smiling fondly at her. Unable to help himself, he tugs Felix closer, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. He wonders what they look like to an outsider right now – a pair of devoted fathers and their daughter. It’s not what they are now, but it’s what they will be soon. 

“You did so well raising her,” Felix says as Seungmin emerges from the back room and sweeps Aeji into another hug. “Even with everything you had to deal with, you raised your daughter so well.”

Chan hesitates for a moment before saying, “Our daughter.”

Felix abruptly turns his head to look up at him. “What?”

“Well, you know…” Chan clears his throat, trying to appear nonchalant. “We are going to be getting married. If I’m her father and you’re my husband then that makes you her other father right? If you want to be, of course.”

Uncaring of the fact that they’re in public, Felix pulls Chan down into a kiss. Distantly, he can hear Aeji complaining about how gross they are as Hyunjin whistles at them. He can’t bring himself to care however, not when Felix pulls away, a smile on his face, and says, “I would consider myself the luckiest man alive to be Aeji’s other father.”

And hearing that? Well, Chan can’t resist the urge to kiss him again.

—————

Wedding planning gradually grows less stressful, mostly due to the Queen who sweeps in and calmly takes control where both Felix and Chan were floundering. She still checks in with them for their opinion on things but for the large part it’s out of their hands.

That doesn’t mean Chan isn’t busy with other things. While he’s been taking classes on royal etiquette since moving into the palace, the classes are now happening at a more frequent rate as they palace scholars attempt to teach him everything he needs to know about wedding traditions, as well as all of the nobles who will be attending that he’ll need to be careful not to offend.

Finally, with only two weeks to go until the wedding, they deem him capable of holding his own. Freed from the lessons, he makes his way to the smaller library he’s come to see as a sort of sanctuary. There’s a cushioned window seat in the back of the room, hidden by the bookshelves that tower upwards. During the afternoon the light hits it perfectly to make the space seem to almost glow; Chan loves to sit there for hours, reading book after book. It’s a novel experience, even after over a year of living in the palace, to be able to leave Aeji’s safety in the hands of someone else and have a quiet moment for himself.

Today, however, his quiet moment doesn’t stay quiet for long. He hasn’t been reading for more than half an hour when suddenly he hears the patter of tiny feet making their way through the stacks. One second he’s alone, the next there’s a tiny head peeking up at him over the edge of the seat. “Daddy?”

He smiles and puts his book down before reaching to help Aeji onto the seat. “Hey Ji-ji. What’re you doing?”

She snuggles into his lap. “Missed you.”

“Missed you too, baby.” He dips his head to press a kiss to her forehead. “Is everything okay?”

Nodding happily, she sighs before burrowing further into his arms. “Daddy?”

“Yeah?”

“Is Prince Yongbok going to be my other daddy?”

Despite the conversation with Felix a few months ago, they’d never actually broached the topic with Aeji, content to wait until she wanted to bring it up. “Do you want him to be?”   
  


“Yeah! But…” She sits up in his lap, facing him, a worried furrow to his brow. “Don’t wanna make you sad.”

He frowns. “Why do you think that will make me sad, baby?”

“Cause…” Her lip is wobbling and he’s stricken to realize that she’s close to crying. “Cause you couldn’t be my daddy for so long, an’, an’, an’ now you can an’ I don’t wanna have him if I can’t have you.”

“Oh, Ji-ji.” He sweeps her into a hug, holding her tight. “Baby, you can have both of us. You can have two daddies. Just because you get him doesn’t mean you lose me. I’m always going to be your father, I promise.”

“Really?”   
  


“Really. Maybe we can call him something different? What if I’m Daddy and he’s Papa? Would that work?”

She thinks about it for a moment, then nods firmly - he can feel her head bobbing against his neck. “Okay. He can be Papa.”

And just like that, his little family is one step closer to being complete.

—————

The morning of the wedding dawns and, as it does, the ball of nerves in Chan’s stomach grows. 

He wakes early and, finding himself unable to get back to sleep, sneaks through the palace halls to look in on his sister. Her room isn’t far, just a few doors over, but Chan is still careful not to get caught. Luckily, there’s no one into the hall and he’s able to slip into her room and quietly shut the door behind himself.

As he’d done many times before, on nights when Eunyoung was being loud and Aeji couldn’t sleep or Eunyoung had taken all of the firewood money and he hadn't been able to heat the house, he slips into bed behind Aeji. She rouses a little, just enough to murmur “Daddy,” before turning to bury her head in his chest and falling back asleep.

He closes his eyes and buries his nose in her hair. This is good; this is familiar. 

The next time he wakes, the sun is blazing through the window, and there’s a little girl sitting on his chest.

She giggles down at him. “Daddy! Time to get up!”

“Is it? But I’m so sleepy…” He yawns, the gesture over exaggerated, and closes his eyes.

“Daddy!” She exclaims, shaking his shoulder. “Daddy wake up! Daddy!”

“But it’s too early! Why should I wake up when I could stay here in bed with my Ji-ji?”

“Daddy needs to marry Papa! Then he can stay in bed with Papa  _ and  _ Ji-ji!” She looks so triumphantly proud of her logic; it makes Chan’s heart melt more than just a little bit. 

“Well,” he says, pulling her down to kiss her forehead, “I can hardly argue with that logic, can I?”

—————

The wedding itself passes by in a blur; it seems as though no time passes at all between BamBam escorting him to the chapel, to he and Felix walking hand in hand out of the room. He knows he said all the right words, hit all the right cues, but everything else is lost in a haze of disbelief and happiness. 

They’re supposed to go immediately to the ballroom where the reception will be held, but halfway there Felix drags Chan into a secluded corridor. He presses Chan up against the wall, resting their foreheads together as he kisses the bridge of Chan’s nose. “Hi,” he giggles, the sound bright and happy.

Chan smiles back at him, hands coming up to rest on his husband’s waist. “Hi,” he replies. “You seem happy.”

“You’re my husband now - how could I not be?”

“Sap.”

“Your sap.”

“I know.” Chan bites at his lip, trying to contain his smile from growing any larger, and kisses Felix’s cheek, the only bit of skin he can reach without moving. “My husband.”

“Forever?”

“As long as you’ll have me.”

Felix hums contentedly at that and kisses the bridge of Chan’s nose one last time before pulling away. He takes Chan’s hands in his and presses a kiss to his palm. All the while, happiness is evident on every part of his face. “So forever then.”

Chan laughs. “If you think you can handle it.”

“For you, I can handle anything.” Felix kisses his palm one last time before intertwining their fingers. “Come one. They can’t start the reception without us and lord knows our daughter will never let us hear the end of it if she’s delayed from getting any cake.”

“You know,” Chan says as they leave the corridor, moving once again to the ballroom, “were it anyone other than you, I’d say she’s more excited about the wedding cake than about her new father.”

“But?”

Smiling, Chan pulls him to a stop in the middle of the hallway. It’s a little bit shameless to be acting like this where anyone could see, but it’s his wedding day; he imagines he can be pardoned for breaching etiquette just this once. He kisses the back of Felix’s hand, then his palm, then, in a brazen act of intimacy, his inner wrist. “But it’s you. She’d rather have you as her Papa, cake or not.”

Felix laughs lightly. “I can’t believe this is my life now; standing in the middle of the palace halls, the love of my life telling me our daughter loves me more than cake.”

“Me neither,” Chan admits. “But I’m so happy it is.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> one more to go!! next chapter is what you've all been waiting for - sexy times ;)))
> 
> please leave comments and kudos!!! they help motivate me to keep writing
> 
> find me on twt @seungchxn

**Author's Note:**

> ahhh she's here!!! I've been working on this for so long I'm so excited to finally post it. many thanks to goth for typing up over 1k of the ending because I couldn't find the motivation. love you xoxo <3
> 
> please leave comments and kudos (especially comments) as they're what motivate me to keep writing!! if you want to talk to me anon you can message me at curiouscat.me/seungchxn.
> 
> find me on twitter @seungchxn


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